France, tour, détour, deux enfants

Godard was commissioned by the Antenne 2 TV channel to do a series based on the 19th century French children’s classic La Tour de la France avec deux enfants. The final result, co-created with Miéville – an utterly remarkable examination of childhood within the contexts of family, home, work, and the shared idea of life and time within the greater culture – may have displeased the TV executives, but it is, as Colin McCabe put it, “probably as great as anything Godard has ever done.”